Baby carriage



\ J. HAYES BABY CARRIAGE u I u (f0 )7 b ye s I Fled March 23, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2'7. 2. v J/ May 12,-1925. 1,537,822 J. HAYES BABY CARRIAGE Filed March 25, 1922 2 Shets-She et 2 c/v/m 152 54% Patented May 12, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BABY CARRIAGE.

Application filed March 23, .1922. Serial No. 546,118.

To all whom it mag/concern Beit known that I,JOHN HAYES, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Belle Vernon, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Baby Carriages; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in baby carriages.

The object of the present invention'is to improve the construction of baby carriages and to provide a simple, and comparatively.

inexpensive baby carriage having a swing ing body adapted to be oscillated to enable the baby carriage to be used as a cradle for rocking or swinging a baby to sleep without removing it from the carriage and while the same is either indoors or outdoors.

A. further object of the invention is to provide a baby carriage of this character having'a hinged front and adapted to form a seat or extension of the bottom and operableby means adapted also to be used for oscillating the swinging body.

A further object of the invention is to provide a musical attachment adapted to be operated by thebaby carriage when the same is pushed along and capable'of being readily thrown into and out of operation so that themusic may be played or not as desired.

With these and otherobjects in view the invention consists in the construction and novelcombination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claim hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, pro portion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a baby carriage constructed in accordance with this invention,

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the same,

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional iew taken in the plane of the rear axle and illustrating the construction of the clutch mechanism for throwing the musical attachment into and out of operation,

Figure-4 is a horizontal sectional view, parts being broken away to show clearly the construction of the musical attachment,

Figure 5 is an elevation of a musical toy embodying portions of the invention.

Like numerals of reference designate cor responding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a substantially oblong casing mounted upon front and rear wheels 2 and 3 which are arranged on the terminal or spindle portions of front and rear axles 4: and 5. The axles are journaled in suitable bearing brackets 6 and 7 and are preferably supported by braces 8 and 9 but they may be mounted on the casing 1 in any other desired manner. constitutes .a sounding board is provided with a series of longitudinal strings 1O preferably 2 1 in number but they may be more or less as will bereadily understood. These strings which are adapted to be tightened by keys 11 are struck by hammers 12 pivotally mounted at intermediate points at 13 on a transverse rod and provided at their front ends with heads for engaging the strings and having rearwardly projecting arms 14; adapted to be engaged by pins 15 of a horizontalcylinder 16 mounted in suitable brackets 17 at the rear end ofzthe casing 1. The cylinder is provided with a centralsprocket gear 18 which is connected by a sprocket chain1-9 with a sprocket wheel 20 mountedon the rear axlenat the center thereof.

In practice the sprocket gearing will be housed within a suitable casing. The rear wheels are loose on the rear axle and one of the rear wheels is provided with a clutch section or base 21 which is adapted to be engaged by a slidable clutch member 22 consisting of a sleeve slidably interlocked with the axle and provided with an annular groove 23 and having teeth or projections 24 forming a clutch face to engage with the clutch face 21 of the rear wheel, whereby when the slidable clutch member is interlocked with the wheel the latter will be secured to the axle and will cause a rotation The casing which ofthe latter for imparting rotary movement to the cylinder of the music attachment. I The groove of the slidable clutch member is engaged by a fork connected by a rod 26 with an arm 27 of a shaft 28 adapted to be partially rotated to slide the sleeve or clutch section into and out of engagement with the wheel. The shaft 28 is mounted on one of a pair of inclined handles 29 but it may be arranged in any other suitable manner and the said handles 29 are secured at their lower ends to the casing at opposite sides thereof and are supported by curved braces 30 and are connected at their upper ends by a transverse rod 31 adapted to be grasped to push the baby carriage.

Mounted upon the horizontal casing at opposite sides thereof are leaf springs 32 of semi-elliptic form having forwardly and rearwardly extending arms or portions from the terminals of which a body 33 is suspended-by front and rear side links 3 1. The body which is adapted to be oscillated to swing or rock the baby to sleep is pro ided with a hinged front 35 adapted to be let down to form a seat or extension of the bot tom of the body. Any desired form or style of body may be employed and the front which is connected at the bottom by hinges 36 is raised and lowered by side rods 37 extending longitudinally of the sides of the body of the carriage and connected at their front ends to the front 35. The side rods 37 pass through guides 38 and are connected at their rear ends by transverse rod 39 which is secured in an extended position in spaced relation with the back of the baby carriage by a locking device composed of hinged rods 40 having a hinge connection at their outer terminals with the body and with the rod 39 and provided at their adjacent ends with a joint 41 adapted to permit the rods to break and swing in one direction and forming a lock for holding them rigid against movement in the opposite direction. will enable the hinged front of the bodyto be secured in its closed position but any other'suitable means may of course be employed for holding the latter closed.

This- The rearwardly extending side rods and the transverse connecting rod 39 form a handle for enabling the body of the baby carriage to be oscillated to form a cradle for rocking or swinging the occupant to sleep.

In practice the baby carriage will be equipped with a suitable brake for locking the same stationary to facilitate rocking or swinging the body.

The baby carriage may be made in the form of a toy baby carriage and may be equipped with the musical. attachment or the latter may be omitted if desired and in Figure 5 of the drawings is illustrated a musical toy comprising a body 42constituting a sounding board and supporting a series of longitudinal strings L3. The body is preferably in the form of a casing having openings 4A- through which project hammers 15. The hammers 12 and 45 are maintained in a predetermined position by coiled springs 46 and 47 and the said hammers 45 are adapted to be operated by projections as of a wheel 49. The wheel 49 is mounted sprocket gearing 50 with a wheel 5]. which supports the body a2. 'The pins and the plugs may be arranged 111 any desired manner to play varioustunes. The body 4-2 is provided at the back with a suitable handle 52 and the toy is adapted to be pushed along the ground or other supporting surface for rotating the wheel 49.

What is claimed is A device of the class described including an open horizontal casing mounted on wheels, a body supported on said casing, strings contained within the casing and located under and protected by said body, a transverse rod on said casing, hammers pivoted on said rod and arranged to engage the strings, a rotary cylinder carried by the casing substantially rearwardly of the body and provided with pins for operating the hammers, and gearing for connecting the cylinder for driving movement from one of the wheels.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN HAYES. 

